Two more York County deputies out after allegations of sex on duty

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Two months after two York County sheriff's deputies were fired for having sex while on duty, and four others disciplined, and it's happened again.

Two more female deputies have now resigned before being fired.

Sheriff Kevin Tolson provided reporters on Monday with documents from the most recent investigation, as well as letters of resignation from both officers.

Two deputies wrote to Tolson last week resigning during an investigation accusing both of having sex while at work.

The resignations come two months after Deputy Sgt. Jennifer Forsythe and Deputy Daniel Hamrick were fired after being accused of having sex while on duty.

Four other deputies were disciplined as a part of that investigation.

The sheriff said they were involved sexually with Forsythe at various times beginning in 2003.

A few deputies were demoted, others were suspended without pay.

Tolson was clearly disgusted about having to talk about this issue in public, again.

"This is what it is. It's not pretty. It's not fun to be up here to talk about employees and police officers that have sex on duty," Tolson said standing in front of a row of TV cameras and reporters.

In August, Tolson said a dark cloud hung over the Sheriff's Office concerning allegations of sexual conduct on duty.

Tolson said he fired Forsythe and Hamrick because they were involved in misconduct after he became sheriff.

Tolson said he felt like he had handled the problem, but now, there are more incidents.

According to statements from the two female deputies who resigned in late September, they had sex six times from 2015 to 2017. At times, the encounters were in a marked patrol car, and they were wearing their uniforms. They had also met at one deputy's home or in a wooded area off Highway 21 in Fort Mill.

One deputy involved told investigators that she never turned off her radio or ignored a call during these sex acts.

Tolson said if the two deputies who just quit had ignored calls, he would have fired them. He said deputies must be held to a higher standard. This isn't just a problem for his office.

"For us to sit here and think as a group, that these kinds of activities don't happen in every profession, we're fooling ourselves," he said.

Tolson said since Forsythe was fired in August, she has made allegations that female deputies are being sexually harassed by their male superiors at the York County Sheriff's Office, and threatened with retaliation if they speak out about it.

Tolson denied a cover-up and said no complaint has been filed against his office. Those issues are not part of any investigation.

"I have not been made aware of any allegations concerning sexual harassment or retaliation, concerning this employee or others associated with her, since I’ve been sheriff," he said.

When asked about Forsythe's allegations of sexual harassment, Tolson called her a former employee who had been fired for admitting to having sex with other deputies on the job.